S.F. toll scenarios ready for scrutiny

Rachel Gordon

Published 4:00 am, Sunday, December 12, 2010

San Francisco supervisors, acting in their role as Transportation Authority commissioners, are scheduled to decide Tuesday whether to halt or endorse further evaluation of a proposal to impose a toll for driving in certain areas of the city during peak commute periods.

Commissioners will not be asked to approve the toll. Instead, they will be asked to accept a report that lays out three potential fee-collection scenarios and to direct Transportation Authority staff to study the idea in more detail. The staff recommendation is to proceed.

The earliest the toll would go into effect for a six-month to a year demonstration project would be 2015.

The idea is that the toll would reduce congestion and greenhouse gas emissions while generating an estimated $60 million to $80 million in net revenue annually to pay for such transportation-related expenses as transit improvements, street repaving, upgraded traffic signals and bike and pedestrian enhancements.

Motorists crossing greater downtown San Francisco and the city's southern border with San Mateo County could be affected by the proposed toll, under the options now on the table.

In all three cases, the daily charge would be capped at $6 per vehicle, with no fees imposed during the midday, evenings or weekends. The annual bill for commuters driving in the toll zones would be $1,560, if they drive five days a week, 52 weeks a year.

The hours the charge would be in effect, the precise borders of the toll zones and potential discounts for people living and working within or near the boundaries are among the issues that would be refined and analyzed, should staff get the go-ahead to further evaluate feasibility of the concept, said Tilly Chang, the Transportation Authority's deputy director of planning.